Board games can do a number of impressive things when you get right down to it. They can make you think in complex or creative ways. They allow you to socialize and converse with either the best of friends or complete strangers, often in low-key settings. They come in such variety of styles, play times, and difficulty level that there’s pretty much a game for everyone willing to give them a chance. And pound for pound they’re some of the cheapest, most replayable forms of entertainment around.
Most of all though, in all but the purest abstracts, board games tell stories. Stories of danger and intrigue. Of excitement and frivolity. Of in-game story twists and events between those sitting around the table. Most games have a theme, and most themes are there to entice you further into its cardboard world.
Feudum is one such game. It invites you into into its seemingly sleeping and pastoral kingdom…and then promptly boots you out into the wilds of the surrounding lands.
See, thanks to a rather tempestuous queen, players in Feudum start off being stripped of nearly everything they own and banished to strange far off territory to start anew. Will you try to make your name for yourself as a famous explorer? A rich merchant? A fearsome knight? In the meaty game Feudum, all of these are possible due to an excellent blending of sandbox-level gaming opportunities and a Euro game centered approach.
Over the course of several rounds, will explore their surroundings by selecting different action selection cards which stipulate what they’ll be able to do each turn. It has farming. It has conquest and area control. It has an economic engine. And it has strategic avenues aplenty. All of this alone will entice many, especially alongside its rather subdued-but-intriguing art style. And it should.
Additionally throughout your glorious journey you will be attempting to gain control of various towns as a means of establishing their claim within each of the game’s six guilds to obtain status within that guild. See, while you’re always able to interact with every guild to pursue their services, it’s much better to be in charge, as each guild comes with a pair of abilities that only the top two ranked players in each guild have access to. If you want access to those abilities (and you likely do), you’ll have to unseat one of the other players. Combat may be optional, but jockeying for status is inescapable.
And then there is the behemoth: a wonderful multicolored one-horned monster that looks like it came out of the Mirror Universe’s version of Adventure Time. And it’s out there…waiting to be summoned at the most opportune time.
Which, naturally, we want to do. See, we’ve decided to embark on The Great Behemoth Search, hoping to learn as much as we can about the creature while we’re also trying to climb back up the social ladder. And we could use your help. You know, if you’re not too busy playing courtly politics. To see if you’re up for this side quest, we’re giving away a brochure of our planned expedition, which just so happens to look and act like a copy of the Feudum game. Unfortunately they’re still using a printing press in these parts, so we only had time to have one made up. Which means we’re raffling it off.
From now until May 1st you can check the contest out on our Facebook page, or by entering below. Just follow the entry form and proceed with the contest. The more you do, even if just one, you still have a better chance than not entering at all. Of course you’re welcome to do that too. But your odds of winning drop to zero. No pressure or anything.
The Fine Print: The Cardboard Republic, in conjunction with Odd Bird games is giving this game away strictly for entertainment purposes. This act is not a paid endorsement by Odd Bird games or any other entity. This contest is open to individuals only. Staff members of The Cardboard Republic and Odd Bird Games are not eligible to participate. For winners outside of the Continental US, the publisher reserves the right to request they cover part or all of the shipping costs.
P.S. If you really don’t want to take your chances at a free copy and would just rather preorder instead, you can click here to get your own copy that way too.